Various prosthetic mesh materials have been proposed to reinforce the abdominal wall and to close abdominal wall defects. It has been known to fold a sheet of surgical mesh fabric into the multilayer cone configuration 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 and then to insert the mesh plug into a hernia defect to occlude the void. Such a multilayer prosthesis is inherently stiff and may not fully conform to variations in the contour of the defect, leaving gaps between the implant and the abdominal wall that could potentially lead to recurrent herniation. The stiff, multilayered mesh plug also may be susceptible to kinking and buckling during placement.
Other conical mesh plugs have been proposed including a dart which is commercially available from C. R. Bard, Inc., assignee of the present application, under the name "Marlex Mesh Dart". This mesh implant is hot molded into a stiff conical configuration which is non-compressible and which does not conform to irregularities in the muscle or tissue wall defining the defect.
Accordingly, the prior art lacks an implantable mesh plug for filling and repairing muscle and tissue wall ruptures which is adaptable to irregularities in the shape of the defect.